That's Just a Myth
by usernamealwaystaken
Summary: Mythical Creature AU. For Xiang, each day was more or less the same routine. The only variety he was offered was the ability to skip a few classes. It wasn't until some new family moved in to the house down the street. They seemed normal enough, but were was something about them that was off. Especially that white-haired kid...
1. Time For Giving Up the Ghost

**Xiang – Hong Kong**

**Cheng – Macau**

**Mei – Taiwan**

If you want your favorite song to be ruined for the rest of your life, set it as your alarm.

That was the only coherent thought that came to Xiang's mind as the alarm he had set on his phone went off. No doubt that he still liked Ghost by Mystery Skulls, but after being forced awake by its melody, it just lost its luster. I guess you could say, it was a ghost of its former self. Yep. Pun game still strong. All jokes aside, he took a mental note to change it to just a regular alarm again, so that no more of his favorite songs suffered such a fate.

He rolled out of bed and made his way to the door. Just like clockwork, the rest of his family, sans his oldest brother, appeared at their respective doors. His cousins – Mei, Yong Soo, Kiku and Cheng – all lived together in the same house. Yeah, it seemed a bit crowded at times, but it was nice having them all around sometimes. Unlike right now. Mei, Xiang, and Yong Soo all exchanged glances, then turned their attentions to the bathroom. Like rockets, the three of them bounded towards the bathroom, all needing an exceptional amount of time to get themselves ready.

Unluckily for the two boys, Mei got to the sanctuary first, with a successful slam of the door. Great, they just expended energy they hardly even had in vain. Whilst Yong Soo whined and collapsed on the floor and Xiang slumped onto the floor, Cheng and Kiku calmly made their way downstairs for breakfast.

Yao, the oldest of all of them, had almost not heard them come downstairs, as he was already making breakfast for all of them. "Ah, good morning you two. Where are the others?" he greeted, just like any normal morning. Of course he already knew where the others were, it was just so routine to ask, he felt obligated to.

"Mei got the bathroom today." They said in unison.

"That's the third time this week." Yao said. He was so focused on whatever was on the stove that his sleeve nearly caught fire. He muttered a small 'aiyah' underneath his breath.

"Yao, you must not keep overworking yourself like this everyday. We can cook for ourselves." Cheng spoke up.

"Hai, you should rest sometime."

"Oh please, you act like I'm some kind of old man." Yao laughed, frantically tending to the myriad of breakfast foods cooking in front of him. He set down two plates of food for them and return to the stove to finish off the rest of the food. "Xiang, Mei, Yong Soo! Get down here, you'll be late to school!" he yelled.

Xiang and Yong Soo trudged down the stairs, looking like they had been trampled by a herd of wildebeest. Mei, on the other hand, looked like a she belonged in a commercial, or a Disney princess movie. An undeniably smug smirk came to her lips as she side-eyed them both and walked in slow motion. The two disgruntled faces of her cousins stared back at her. She and Yong Soo took a seat at the table.

Xiang didn't even bother. This definitely wasn't a good start to the day. He didn't want to get suffocated by his family's morning chatter or Mei's smug smog. He just took his breakfast, mumbled a quick 'thank you' and headed out. He wouldn't have cared much about getting to school on time if Yao wasn't getting on his ass about his attendance. Sure he skipped a few classed here and there, but it's not like that shitty school was teaching him anything anyway.

On his way to school, he passed by the old rickety house that was abandoned up until around 8 years ago, around the same time Yao had moved in with them from China. It was amazing that anyone was crazy enough to call that dump home. As a child, he and his cousins would explore that house for fun. He had memorized every hole in the floor, every spider web, and every crack in the wall. But no abandoned house would be complete without a ghost.

"_Hey guys, wait up!" Young Mei called out._

"_Hurry up, or the ghost boy'll getcha!" Yong Soo called back._

_Xiang and Yong Soo navigated through the ground floor while Mei caught up. Xiang hated how dark it was once the front door was closed. He shivered, but tried to play it off as just the draft coming from the broken windows making him cold. He flinched when he heard the crackle of the autumn leaves that happened to have made their way in through said windows. His annoying older cousin saw this and smirked._

"_Aw, what is it shorty," he said patting the younger boy's head "you scared of the ghost?"_

"_Pfft, no way." Xiang lied and slapped Yong Soo's hand off his head. "Let's split up. I'll take upstairs. You and Mei stay here." He ventured further ahead just to get some relief from his cousins' useless chattering. Unfortunately for him, that meant being alone in the cold, dark bedrooms of the upstairs, furthest from the door. His shuddering only increased with the creepy ambiance of the creaky floorboards, each deafening squeak increasing in pitch like the screams of the ghosts begrudgingly roaming the world of the living, searching for an exit to the hellish limbo they find themselves in. The winds howled and the curtains billowed. A skinny branch tapped on the side of the house and rain droplets pounded the roof, creating an ominous knocking sound. But it wasn't until a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder did Xiang find himself scrambling to find the nearest hiding place._

_After a little while of cowering, Xiang decided that it would be best to venture back downstairs. With a deep breath, he began to take tentative steps downstairs. All of a sudden, a white blur darted across the ground floor, blowing leaves and dust in its wake. Xiang screamed and jumped back, attempting to get back upstairs. _

_Echoing from behind him were the shouts of his cousins. He could barely make out what they were saying. _

"_Let me go…!"_

"_No…! I …n't wanna…" _

_Those last sentences ran through his mind as he maneuvered his way through the different bedrooms and into a closet placed way into the corner. He attempted to calm his breathing. Even though he'd never actually watched a horror movie – Cheng said he was too young and would get scared - he was smart enough to know that he shouldn't be making noise. His attempts to go completely still was aided by the fear brought about by loud footsteps heading straight for his hiding place. Xiang closed his eyes and wished for the monster to go away._

_His wishes would not be answered._

_The closet door slowly creaked open and Xiang froze. 'Like, try to make a run for it!' he told himself, but his feet wouldn't listen. The only movement he dared to make was to tightly clench his fists and brace himself for the worst._

"_Xiang. Come on, the new family is coming to start moving in here." Said the new voice._

_Relief washed over Xiang as he looked up and saw Cheng. Behind him was Yong Soo and Mei struggling to get free from Kiku, who seemed less than thrilled that he was stuck handling the rowdy little kids. Xiang allowed himself to calm down completely and left the "haunted house" behind._

With his reminiscence coming to a close, Xiang finally brought himself out of his trance. He had been staring at the one house for God knows how long. He might've just stared at it forever, if he hadn't seen the ghost boy looking out at him.


	2. All Will Be Revealed

Xiang didn't bother to hang around long enough for the other boy to react. He just walked past, quickening his pace and headed to class. There's no way that ghosts were real, right? It's just some stupid story he believed when he was 7 years old. The now 15 year old boy just shook his head and decided to forget about all that ghost boy nonsense. If Yong Soo found out he still believed in that garbage, he would annoy him to no end. More than he already does anyway.

Of course, that whole scene that had replayed in his mind made him late for class. Xiang walked into the classroom and slumped down in his chair at the back of the classroom. Time for another period of passive aggressive "well if you had been here on time" comments from his teacher. The only thing that would brighten his day would be the presence of his friend, Lili, though he didn't really feel like talking today. She wouldn't hesitate to help out with pulling a few pranks, as long as her brother didn't find out about them.

Xiang just put his head down on the table. He contemplated talking to Lili about what happened, but what would he say? Some ghost boy has been haunting him since he was just a kid? The biochemistry work on the board didn't matter to him right now. He felt like all his energy was just siphoned out of him. Taking a good nap was probably the only good thing that would come out of this morning. That is, until he heard the seat next to him being taken. As he looked up, of course it was none other than the damn ghost. It was already a few months into the school year, but he apparently decided to come today of all days. Instead of going back to sleep, Xiang decided to investigate.

He looked like death, no pun intended. He had snowy white hair and pale skin to match, but violet eyes with subtle bags underneath. It's like he's the personification of when you're too tired to sleep. He fidgeted with his gloves. Why did he even have them on inside anyway? All of a sudden he glances over at the other boy. Xiang quickly averts his eyes to make it look like he wasn't just staring him down.

Lili finally whispered. "You checking out the new guy?"

Xiang only glared. "Don't say it like that. It sounds wrong."

"It _sounds_ to me like _someone_ wants to meet me in detention. Again. Isn't that right Mr. Xiang Wang? Sit up straight and pay attention when I'm teaching."

He didn't even bother to give a verbal response. He merely propped his head up on his behemoth of a textbook and held his pen over his paper to make it look like he was taking notes. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the ghost boy – he should really figure out his name – snickering. At him! Normally, he would just leave it alone, but he was in a terrible mood today and it was mostly this kid's fault. What's he even doing here? He tried not to openly stare at the white haired apparition next to him. No, wait. Lili could see him. He probably wasn't even being haunted right now. Just his dumb memories playing tricks on him. He decided to test whether or not this kid was actually a ghost. It will ensure him a stay in detention, but it's not like he wasn't getting that anyway.

Xiang balled up his "notes" and waited for the right moment to strike. The bell rang and everyone gathered up their stuff, including ghost boy. With perfect accuracy, he landed a direct hit to the back of his head with the wad of paper. The paper bounced right off his head and onto the floor. Well, it didn't just phase right through him, which was evidence enough that this kid wasn't the real deal.

The kid stopped in his tracks and balled his fists. He took a deep breath and continued out of the room. Now Xiang felt kind of bad about throwing that ball of paper at him, especially now that he know that kid wasn't trying to haunt him. He looked back at Lili, who was shaking her head at him.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

"Like, don't even worry about it." Xiang said, trying to catch up to the boy.

He scanned the crowd for him. Finding him wasn't hard, thanks to his oddly colored hair. Xiang was about to call out to him. That is, until he faded from his view. Like, literally faded away. Ok, now Xiang was certain. This kid really _was_ a ghost.

Finally, the school day was over. After his first day of school and people talking behind his back about being some kind of ghost, the white haired boy was just happy to be back in his own home. He entered his, house, which his brother had single handedly transformed from a ratty abandoned dump to a decent place to live. It's not like it was anything incredible. He was a wizard after all.

"Welcome home, Emil." Said the all too familiar voice of said brother. Emil didn't even notice him in the corner, reading a book as always. Just like himself, his brother sported a pair of tired eyes, though his were more defined. And he actually had a good reason for having them. "Judging by the fact that I felt a lull in my magic, I guess your day didn't go so well."

Emil just sighed. "Lukas, I-"

"Was it an emergency?"

"Uh… no. Not really."

"Do you know why I allow you to use your powers at your own discretion? Because I trust that you know when to use them _only in emergencies_." Lukas said, turning to go upstairs.

Emil didn't even bother to retort. His brother got pretty unbearable during the week. He's been awake for several days since he needs to keep up the magic disguise that made everyone affected look and feel human. If anyone were to find out what they were, only trouble could follow. Lukas and the house in general often reeked of coffee for that reason. If he feel asleep and a human saw one of them without their disguise… well, you know.

"And by the way, try not looking like a ghost when you're going outside. It'll give us all away." Lukas called from upstairs.

Emil looked at his phone. It was only Wednesday. Three more days dealing with the sarcastic drama king himself. Finally feeling the swarm of negative thoughts dissipate, Emil freed himself from his limiting human disguise and became a full-fledged ghost. Glad to finally be levitating and intangible, he floated up to his room to forget about school, especially that rude short kid from first period.


	3. Sitting in the Park Under the Moonlight

Emil hovered lazily above the couch, absent-mindedly watching TV. Since he's terrible at hiding the fact he's dead when he goes outside, even with his brother's magic, he often stayed inside as much as possible. This meant he didn't have many friends, but with the way everyone treated him at school earlier today, he doubted that would happen any time soon. The only other thing he could do was homework. He sighed, annoyed at his lack of options and started to wander up to his room. He was startled back into his human disguise when he heard the slamming of the front door.

"Yo, Em! Your favorite big brother's back!" the intruding voice yelled out.

Emil just huffed and resumed ghost form when he recognized the voice. He turned around and received yet another shock. Standing in the doorway was a tall humanoid-dog creature. His blond fur shined in the light of the full moon. The werewolf smiled a toothy smile as it tugged on its red tie, which hardly matched the suit he wore that day.

"Had a rough day at work today, so I decided to just let my fur fly on the way home."

Emil floated over and quickly ushered him inside. He closed all the curtains and slammed the door. After he collected himself, he turned and glared at his self-proclaimed "brother".

"Mathias, are you crazy?! What if someone saw you?" he exclaimed.

"Aw, c'mon Em, live a little. I made sure to walk in the non-crowded areas." He said whilst looking at himself in the mirror. The sight of a werewolf in a suit looked pretty funny to him. Almost as funny as telling a ghost to live a little. Mathias ran up the stairs on all fours. Likely to bother Lukas again.

Knowing of the chaos to come once Mathias reaches his brother's room, Emil decided to go out. Using his invisibility – personally his favorite thing about being a ghost – he floated right through the door. After all, his entire family is preoccupied with something else at the moment. He was often left out of things, but at times like this, he didn't mind.

The light of the full moon greeted him as he exited his house. '_No stars'_ he noted. The Icelandic teen had never really gotten used to looking up and not seeing a whole galaxy of stars above him since he moved here. He recalled spending his nights stargazing with his brother. The memory put a small smile on his face. Unfortunately, that smile disappeared when he heard the telltale howl of his werewolf cousin. He ran right through him, again on all fours, then hobbled right back over. His walk was awkward since he was meant to walk on two legs, but walking on four was necessary when outside for obvious reasons. The leash that adorned his neck was also necessary. No one wanted a repeat of the time he was taken to the pound. It was a real hassle trying to get him out of there before he changed back into a human.

Of course Emil was stuck with walking him. He always was. With a sigh, Emil floated aimlessly, knowing full well that the Dane would just annoy him if he stayed still for too long. Despite this, he couldn't help but want to do exactly that. Don't get him wrong, it's not like he hated him, he was just hoping to get some time to himself after the shitty day he just had. Which is exactly why he did nothing when Mathias ran ahead of him. He kept well enough behind him to see where he was.

And to see him knock some poor kid off his feet.

Stifling a laugh, Emil floated over to see what was going on. He got there just in time to see whoever Mathias knocked down give him a swift punch to the nose. It was then that Emil decided to show himself. Hoping that no one saw him materialize from nowhere, Emil pulled Mathias off him so that the situation wouldn't escalate further. Once Mathias was off, he mentally rolled his eyes at who he saw.

"Like, is that dog yours?" Xiang said. He was noticeably glancing at Mathias ever so often nervously, but he tried to keep his facial expression composed.

"It might be." Emil said passively. He saw this whole situation as payback for throwing things on him at school earlier. Then, as if he read his mind, the other boy spoke.

"Look, I'm really sorry about earlier today. I was having a pretty weird morning."

"Hm. That's hardly any excuse for throwing things at me when I didn't even do anything to you."

"It was really only one thing." Xiang whispered under his breath.

"Whatever." Emil said, trying to lead Mathias in the other direction. He wouldn't budge. The werewolf sat right there, looking between the two boys. Then he smiled the smuggest grin a canine could, much to the confusion of the Icelander. The Dane then grabbed Xiang's sleeve with his mouth and ran, dragging Emil behind him by the leash. He ignored their pleas for him to stop and carried them all the way to a nearby park.

Ok, this was too much. All Emil wanted to do was to go for a walk _alone_. Now he was stuck at a park with a werewolf and some annoying kid from class. He slumped down on a bench with a defeated sigh, hoping that kid would just get lost. But of course, he was never so lucky. Whenever he did try to leave, Mathias would usher him back to the same spot until he took a seat as well on the opposite side of the bench. Emil guessed this was another one of his family's "Get Emil a Friend" missions, and Mathias couldn't have picked a worse "friend". All they would do is just sit in awkward silence until Mathias gave up.

It goes without saying that both teens were uncomfortable with speaking to each other. Emil was openly glaring at Mathias, but the other kid was just glancing at him every once in a while. He figured that maybe he was making them uncomfortable, so he sauntered off so that they can converse in peace. After all, no kid wants to talk with their friends when family is around, or an intimidating giant dog in Xiang's case.

"Y'know, I just came out here so I could get some time to myself. I didn't expect to, like, get dragged out here by some giant dog." Xiang finally said.

"Same. Having a family like mine can get annoying." Emil replied.

"Yeah. It's kind of endearing though."

"Yeah, I don't hate them or anything. It is kinda nice having them around. But my brother Lukas and my cousin Mathias were being particularly annoying today."

"What about your dog?"

Emil was confused about this. "You mean Mathias?"

Now it was Xiang's turn to be confused. "Your cousin and dog have the same name?"

Well, shit. Not only was he terrible at hiding himself as a ghost, he was terrible at hiding everyone else. He should just shut up. But not right now. Now he needed to clear things up before he became even more suspicious than he already was.

"Um, I meant to say, uh" he took a few seconds to think, "Magnus. Magnus is my dog's name."

The other boy merely cocked a thick eyebrow at him in response. Emil couldn't bring himself to look at him. The embarrassment was probably written all over his face. He covered his face with his hands when he felt Xiang still staring at him. Then he heard a slight chuckle.

"Well it's getting pretty late. I'd better head home. Have fun walking "Magnus"." Xiang said, emphasizing the air quotes around Magnus.

"My name's Xiang by the way."

Emil just sat there with his hand still covering his face. He didn't acknowledge Xiang walking off, nor did he acknowledge Mathias trotting back to him. He just got up, took the leash, and started to walk back home in silence.

"So how'd it go?" Mathias asked.

Emil sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "As long as you look like that, your name is Magnus."


	4. I'm Goin' Ghost!

Xiang didn't even bother much with the bathroom the next morning. Mei was already in there and Yong Soo was already slumped on the floor in waiting. Xiang had taken off his alarm the night before. One of his favorite songs had already been ruined by having it be associated with the abrupt interruption of glorious slumber. Plus, with his new ghost boy situation, it was getting a bit too ironic. He came prepared though. He had swiped the comb and hair gel from the bathroom beforehand, so at least he looked presentable. The rest of the routine was the same. Yao found out he was late _again_ yesterday, so he had to leave early yet again. If being late got him mad, then not doing homework and skipping first period would get him pissed.

In his defense, he had a lot on his mind. Ok, he was damn sure that kid was a ghost. He saw him disappear in the hallway, though he was surprised no one else did. Plus, the little trip they had to the park yesterday brought up some questions. He was definitely suspicious of his "dog" Magnus. Was he some kind of creature as well? Was his whole family just a bunch of different mythical monsters? How does no one else even see this? Anyway, that moment at the park at least set him and Emil on the right foot. Probably.

Speak of the devil, or ghost really, there he was, already ahead of him. Xiang was stopped in his approach by the look on the other's face. The dark bags underneath his eyes looked droopier than when he last saw him. It looked like his backpack weighed down his skinny body by a few pounds too many. He walked slowly, as if he was unaccustomed to having legs. All puns aside, he looked dead. Xiang decided to slow his pace so he could have this time alone.

After Xiang went to his locker, he happened to pass by Emil once more. He had one hand gripping his backpack strap and the other was combing through his already messy hair. It seemed as though he refused to go inside, as the classroom chatter did nothing for his apparent headache. Still, knowing that he had to go in sooner or later, he placed his hand on the doorknob and readied himself for another bad day.

"Wait!" Xiang cried out, perhaps a bit too loudly. The white haired boy glanced his way with disdain.

"What?" He spat out. He really wasn't in the mood to deal with this. Not today.

"I was just, like, wondering if you wanna skip class with me. You don't look up to dealing with any of this right now."

"Yeah, including you." Emil spat back. However, he calmed down he noticed the subtle look of hurt on the other's face. He removed the hand from his hair and sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, but I have a lot on my mind right now. Plus, I can't just skip class on my second day here."

Xiang only raised an eyebrow at this. "Of course you can. Do you value you academic career, which you've barely started to build, over your own mental health?" He said, in the most persuasive voice he could muster. He wanted Emil to take his offer not because he had questions for him, but mainly for his sake. This kid looked sick as all hell and was only concerned with working himself harder.

After a long pause and a look of guilt, Emil finally followed him to the roof in silence. He still didn't trust Xiang, so he just sat down near one of the edges of the building. The sun was in the sky but it barely radiated any heat. The crisp October air wafted through the area. This was possibly the only thing Emil liked about being "alive" again. He could actually feel the wind lapping at his cheeks and whatever small amount of heat the sun's rays gave off. However, he noticed that the boy next to him hasn't exactly reveling in this feeling like he was. It looked like he was glaring at the sun for not doing its job properly as he shivered slightly.

The two sat in silence. The awkwardness was only broken by the scenery before them. Xiang began glancing at Emil out of the corner of his eye for a few seconds, then looking back ahead. Emil found it obvious that he had a question to ask, and the content of that question was even more obvious. The question, though obvious, was unnecessary. Both Emil and Xiang knew that the former wasn't human, as well as the rest of his family. Emil figured that it would be easier on both of them to just confirm this.

"Listen, I know you know I'm a ghost, let's get that out of the way."

Xiang hadn't expected the other to say that so willingly. As he looked at him, he noticed the other boy's furrowed brows and subtle frown. He hadn't taken his violet eyes off of the sunrise as of yet. His voice was laced with stress, and Xiang couldn't help but think he was a large part of that. Emil's statement hung in the air for a good while as Xiang decided what to say next. He wanted to choose his next words carefully, so as to not stress him out more.

"That's, like, cool."

Well said.

"Like, I know that trying to appear human is hard, but stressing about it makes it more obvious, I guess. You look like you should get some more sleep though. It's probably hard because you've never had an _actual_ body before-"

"I _have_ had a body before. It's just…" the ghostly boy interjected. He still had yet to look in Xiang's direction, though he seemed to have calmed down. "I want to go back inside now."

The boys took one last look at the scenery before heading back downstairs. Emil kept a few steps behind Xiang as they made their way through the halls. It still a few minutes until the end of first period, so they ended up walking slower than usual. They completely halted when they turned the corner and saw their principle, Romulus.

"Skipping class again?" he said, with his trademark smile.

"Yeah, I guess." Xiang had nothing to fear when it came to Romulus. He had let him off with a warning several times before, but he always seemed so nonchalant about it. Xiang looked behind him to see Emil's reaction to being caught. He seemed so against skipping, so he figured his reaction would be pretty entertaining. The only problem was that he was nowhere to be found.

"Well, I'll let you off with a warning this time!" Romulus said, giving Xiang's shoulder a pat before sauntering off. Just then, Xiang saw a flicker from out of the corner of his eye. There stood Emil as if nothing ever even happened. Except now he was in his true form. He casually floated in the air with the same deadpan expression he always had. Then, a small smile appeared on his face for just a second.

"I'm surprised you didn't get in trouble."

"Nah, he's, like, pretty cool, and stuff." Xiang's normally straight face then slowly changed into a smirk. "I'm glad I was able to lift your spirits."

"Oh gods, enough with the puns already." Emil groaned as he reassumed human form.

At the end of the day, Emil, Xiang, and Lili met up at their lockers. Having a decent conversation was tough due to the other students yelling across the hall and trying to see exactly how many teachers they could piss off and how much shit they could get away with since the principle is so laid-back.

"So wait, run that by me again? We have to do what?" Emil inquired.

Lili sighed in response. "We were put in groups of three to create a 3-D model of DNA."

"Of course my favorite teacher decides to make my weekend, like, 1000x better." Xiang said with his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, at least we have an excuse to just hang out now." Lili said in an attempt to lighten the mood. Xiang just sighed. He really hated that class, but at least he would be able to do it with his two friends instead of people he only moderately cared about. With a quick goodbye, the three split up and went home.

Emil walked through the front door of his home and found Lukas sitting in the same chair in the corner he always sits in when he gets home, he anticipated getting scolded for going ghost in the middle of the day again, but such a monologue never came. Emil looked at his phone. Thursday. This was around the time the burden of constantly using his magic started to really take its toll on him. His blinks became slower and his eyes were no longer focused on the book that was threatening to tumble from his hands. This is exactly why it took so long after they moved in for them to actually go outside. It is also why Emil dropped his disguise as soon as he was safely inside. Only when Lukas felt the release of one of his magical connections did he snap into focus.

"Oh, I didn't hear you come in." he said sleepily. "Lunch is on the table."

And just like that, he was back in his trance. Emil floated over and eyed the meal Lukas made for him. Had he been alive, he would have loved to eat it, but the fish now mocked him as he no longer had an appetite. If he ate, he would have to stay in human form and eating with an artificial body was too… weird. Plus, it would be adding more strain to Lukas' magic. However, he took note of what his brother had said to him yesterday.

"_And by the way, try not looking like a ghost when you're going outside. It'll give us all away."_

Emil knew he had to take better care of his human form. He eyed the fish fillet warily before he quickly returned to human form and tried his best to ignore his concern for Lukas for a few minutes. While he would never admit it, he was usually worried about his brother's wellbeing. With all the grace of a suburban family on an infomercial, Emil downed the food and put down the empty plate. It wasn't long before Emil's stomach began to churn. Clutching his stomach and putting a hand over his mouth he figured that a good rest would put both his mind and body at ease. The last thing he wanted was for Lukas to have something else to worry about. However, when he made it to his room, he only stared blankly at his bed. He hadn't slept since a few days after he died. With a sigh, he plopped himself on his bed and just sat there. He faced plenty of his fears today. Sleeping won't be one of them.

* * *

**AN: Ok, I'm a big dumb and I'm terrible with names. I can't believe I changed Xiang's name in the middle of the story **** so I updated a few parts. The only actual change was a few typos, so none of the content has changed. I did the same with Lili and Lukas a few times too :P. But anyway, updates are slow because life happens. Enjoy this update cause I'm not sure when the next one is~**


	5. If This Was a Horror Movie You'd Be Dead

The night seemed to come and go faster than the others in the week for Emil. He spent the majority of the night talking to Lukas and trying to keep him awake for the whole night. Whatever it was that they were talking about had escaped both of their minds, as lapses in the conversation due to Lukas needing to make more coffee left their memories bare. It wasn't long before the first beam of sunlight shone through the curtains, signaling the start of the day. Emil watched as Lukas flinched when he reassumed his human disguise. He barely had time to start making breakfast when he heard a certain someone slinking down the stairs.

It looked like some sort of alien or creature banished to live out its days in the deep ocean. It had inky, gooey black skin (if you could call it that) and several squid-like tentacles for feet. In all honesty it's like a kraken that had a pen exploded all over it. It barely even glanced at the brothers while it kept its hard glare on the coffee pot. Emil knew not to attempt contact with him until he was done with the coffee. In record breaking time, the coffee pot was emptied and the creature before him seem satiated. The gooey skin then began to melt away and take on a different shape. Tentacles became legs and the piercing gaze softened and became the violet eyes he usually had. Tino tended to shapeshift depending on his mood, and, in the morning before coffee, this form of his was commonplace.

"Mornin' Tino." Emil finally said.

"Good morning Emil." Tino said, now his usually bubbly self.

Next in the kitchen was Berwald. His room is practically right next to the kitchen, so it was a surprise that it took him so long to get up. He walked in, silently grateful for the wide doorways since he didn't have to maneuver his hooves or large elk antlers in uncomfortable ways. He grunted his greeting, then left to greet Lukas. Or maybe he left to avoid Mathias, who came barreling in with limitless energy. Before they knew it, everyone went to their routines, with Mathias going to work at some big corporation, Lukas staying home, Emil going to school, and Berwald and Tino working at a small bakery.

The day passed by normally at school, so returned home without a hitch. He could tell Lukas managed to stay awake, so Emil sighed in relief. All he had to do was keep it that way until everyone else got home. It was annoying, really. Their whole lives depended on the security of routine and the hope that a temporary insomnia spell would last five days. After everyone made it back to the house, Lukas could go into hypersleep for the weekend and the routine would start all over again next week.

Emil entered the house and, to his surprise, Lukas wasn't in his usual spot. While breaking routine was on his mind, this was a little unsettling since he had been there waiting for him every day. The shock kept him lingering in the doorway, though he eventually reasoned that he was probably getting some coffee. He began to close the door and turn ghost once more until he was jolted out of his transformation by a voice behind him.

"Yo." said Xiang said, casually walking into his home.

Emil was about to give him a long winded lecture about showing up unannounced when he heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. Panicking, Emil grabbed Xiang and haphazardly shoved him into a corner. Giving him a silencing stare before he started to complain, Emil turned back to his brother, who was casually drinking – you guessed it- coffee.

"Hey Lukas, fancy meeting you here." He said sheepishly.

Lukas stopped mid-sip and narrowed his eyes at Emil. "I'm always here."

Xiang groaned internally. How he desperately wanted to shield himself from the incoming second-hand embarrassment. He decided to focus on the house instead of the painful conversation. First of all, from what he could see from where he was sitting, the house looked way bigger than it did on the outside. Much more so than he remembered it. Of course the last time he was there he was a little kid and the house was pretty run down. It did look empty though, minus a few handcrafted pieces of furniture here and there. The bite marks on the tables and chairs must be from Emil's "dog". Nevertheless, it was unfortunate that there wasn't a lot to hide behind, since he obviously needed to slink past this guy.

"Emil, what are you hiding?" Lukas asked, setting aside his mug.

"Me? I'm not hiding anything. I just, uh…" he said, looking around the room and eventually spotting a book near Lukas "wanted to read a story with you!" He took the book and read the first title he saw. "How about 'De tre bukkene Bruse'?"

"'The Three Billy Goats Gruff?' Emil, I know you don't like such childish things. What are you really up to?"

Emil just sighed, "I just wanted to spend to time with my _big brother_ like we used to before you went to sleep for the whole weekend…"

That got him. Lukas smiled ever so slightly and took the book from Emil, gesturing him to sit next to him. Xiang slipped passed the odd display of Emil sitting with his big brother, who was reading a fairytale with in-character voices. It was admittedly cute and ripe for pictures, but time was of the essence. Successfully sneaking his way upstairs, Xiang decided to scope out how different this place was. He instinctively avoided the parts of the floor where there used to be cracks and holes and the corners that used to have cobwebs. It seemed as though no one else was home, so he decided he would just chill in a room he thought was Emil's.

A few minutes passed, and Xiang was getting bored. How long did it take to read Three Billy Goats Gruff to a high school student? His eyes started to wander around the room. Judging from the fact that the bed looked like it hadn't been used for a while, it seemed this was a guest room. However, the messy floor and the clearly worn-down laptop beg to differ. While absentmindedly looking through the mess, a certain something caught his eye.

Was that a pile of bones in the corner?

It clearly wasn't human, but it was still creepy. The bones were in terrible shape, with burn marks and cracks in them. Curiosity took over and he walked over to the pile. He put his hands in the burnt, gritty, pitiful remains of the little whatever-this-was, careful not to break anything. In the midst of picking up random pieces and putting them back down, he heard a soft click. He looked to the door, waiting to see Emil, or worse, his brother, but no one was there. He shrugged and continued his investigation when another click was heard. Ignoring it, he picked up another bone and found that two of them stuck together. Same with another pair. Xiang tried putting two more pieces and the click was heard once more.

"Oh, it's a puzzle." He said to himself.

As he finished up the puzzle, purely out of boredom, he felt a presence in the room. "What are you doing?"

Xiang turned around to see Emil floated behind him. He mentally facepalmed. Of course he wouldn't hear him come in, he could float. Before he could reply, Emil's eyes landed on the complete skeleton.

"Oh gods, you put him back together…"

Xiang looked back at the puzzle. It was supposed to be of a short bird with a colorful beak. He didn't see anything wrong with it, until he swore he saw it move. Its eye sockets stayed fixed on him, then turned to the ghost behind him. It opened up its beak and actually spoke.

"Ya bastard!" it yelled out, waddling over to Emil. "After all I done for ya, ya just leave me here, all broken n' shit!" Then, after he calmed down a bit he asked "Who the hell's that guy?"

"This is my-" Emil started.

"If you're gonna bang make sure ya lock the door." The bird walked out, leaving a flustered Emil.

"I'm not "gonna bang" him!"

"Bang who?" Lukas said sternly from downstairs.

Emil flinched. "No one…" he said and turned back to Xiang, who had a playful smirk on his face.

"Stop looking at me like that." He turned to the door. "That was Mr. Puffin. He won't rat on us, but he's annoying as hell. Still, it's important that you stay out of sight once everyone else gets here. We don't need anyone else knowing that you're here."

He wants him, Xiang Wang, to stay in one room while a whole family of mythical creatures interact just beneath him? Not a chance.

**AN: Sorry this is taking so long to come out. I just had a virus on my computer that took up so much time, but everything is A-OK now. Thanks to everyone who watched/followed/reviewed. It really gave me a kick that made me start updating again. Hopefully Operation Smash and Grab will come out soon after this.**


	6. The Steve Irwin of Mythical Creatures

Emil floated from one side of his room to the other, trying to think up of a way he could prevent Xiang's little intrusion from being noticed by everyone else. Even though Lukas would be knocked out by the hypersleep spell in a few hours, the rest of his family could still find out about a human in their house, especially with their heightened senses. He was lucky that there would be no full moon tonight, or Mathias would find them in no time with his superior sense of smell. Going back downstairs was automatically out. He didn't want to go through another session of being babied by Lukas, especially not when others were around. He was sure that the other could at least try to contribute some ideas, but, judging from the way he nonchalantly lounged on his bed, he didn't want to leave. Great. Now he had to find a way to get Xiang to want to leave. His mind turned to why he was here in the first place - the science project. Maybe it would bore him enough to leave. He then turned abruptly to Xiang, who was shocked out of staring at Emil's worried pacing. Emil was about to ask him about the project when he realized that his oh so reliable friend had come empty handed.

"Where are the materials for the project?" He asked. He was met with a confused stare. "You know. The science project..." He reiterated, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "The one we were supposed to work on this weekend."

"Oh yeah, that."

"What do you mean 'oh yeah, that'?! Isn't that why you came over?"

"I just wanted to chill, I guess."

Emil sighed. He figured that he should be glad that Xiang was this lazy. Maybe he would be less eager to leave the room and potentially get caught. Unfortunately, this means they would have to lean on Lili for support since the two boys were under a self-imposed house arrest. The least he could do was see if he already had some materials they could potentially use already in the house.

"I'm going to go look for something, stay here." He said, trying to be authoritative.

"Yes mom." Xiang grinned.

Emil huffed and left the room. Xiang waited a few seconds before deciding to do the exact opposite of what he said. So far he knows of a ghost and a werewolf. Emil told him that his brother was a wizard or magician or something, but he'd never seen it in action. He figured he wouldn't be seeing the werewolf anytime soon since the full moon wasn't out, though maybe Lukas' magic could counteract that rule.

Confident in his stealth, courtesy of the Jackie Chan movie marathons he loved so much, he quietly snuck out of the room. Luckily Emil's weird family found a way to get all the creaky floorboards out, ensuring a silent escape. He went from room to room, yet found nothing out of the ordinary, other than this weird feeling like he was being watched. However, when he turned around, nothing was there. He wrote it off as just some trick the house has on him and continued on his way. Suddenly, a new voice rang out from downstairs.

"Lukie! Your favorite big bro's here!" it yelled. A smack resonated almost immediately after.

"Keep away from me you damn dog. So annoying…"

_So I guess that was the guy I socked in the nose the other night_ Xiang thought. Was it Matthias or Magnus? Honestly, that terrible lie was actually starting to confuse him. Stepping lightly, Xiang descended down the stairs just enough to see what was going on. Unfortunately, he looked pretty human. He remembered that Emil said that they tend to release their human form upon entry so that they don't use up too much of Lukas' magic, so the full moon rule probably still applied regardless of the magic spell. The guy with Lukas had a crisp looking suit that contrasted terribly with his wild hair. This guy has a corporate job? He bit back a laugh as their conversation continued.

"Aw, are ya cranky because you missed your nap or someth- NNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGHHH!" his sentence was cut off by a solid tug of his tie.

As much as he would love to stick around and hear this conversation, he would much rather try to scope out some kind of hidden creature like that bird thing he just found. While finding a living skeleton was pretty cool, it was counteracted by that fact that it was just a bird. It didn't even do much. He should probably just bother Emil until someone entertaining came in. Trekking back upstairs, he was hit again with that nagging feeling of being watched. It was probably just Emil trying to spook him for leaving the room.

"Look Emil, I know you're supposed to be, like, a spooky ghost and all, but you know I'm not scared of…"

The appearance of a figure down the hall interrupted his sentence. A big figure. Much too big to be Emil. And Emil sure as hell didn't have fangs and glowing golden eyes with pupils narrowed to slits. He backed up one step and the figure lunged at him. He muttered a curse under his breath as he ran, not even bothering to look back to see what was actually chasing him.

The chase led him to a room he hadn't been to yet. It looked pretty normal, if not a bit messy, but Xiang could care less about the ambiance of the room right now. He ducked under the bed and the beast came in not long after. Whatever it was, it so conveniently decided to stand on top of the bed to search for him. The added weight made him groan a bit and, judging by the beast suddenly climbing down, he hadn't been that discreet.

It was now or never, so he ran from his hiding spot back down the hall. He ran as fast as his legs would carry him to the hiding spot he used before Emil moved in, when he, Mei, and Yong Soo used to play ghost hunt. Luckily, there was still a closet there, albeit a different kind. He dashed inside and quietly closed the door. Xiang flinched from the darkness and the sound of claws clacking against the wood floor, but willed himself to stay calm. He knew hiding wouldn't solve anything, but he had a trick up his sleeve. Literally. He pulled the firecracker and a match from his sleeve and prepared himself to face the beast. He knew keeping these things handy would be useful, though he never thought he'd be using them to fight off a monster. He quickly opened the closet door and immediately had the monster's attention. The lit firecracker was tossed into its face, sending it reeling backwards.

The monster's face was illuminated for only a brief moment, but Xiang could finally make out what it was. Aside from the fangs and eyes, he could now see clearly the smooth, red scales adorning its face and its flexible, serpentine body. This information enough caused an idea to pop into Xiang's head. Continuing to search for features, he noticed stag-like antlers and two long whiskers stemming from either side of its muzzle. Xiang sighed in relief and stood up from his spot in the closet. He knew exactly what and who this was.

"Wow. You would think with eyes like those you would be able to see who I was even in the dark. You're, like, so old your eyesight must be going, teacher."

Recovering from being assaulted with a firecracker, the dragon adjusted his pupils to the light, or lack thereof. He stared ahead of him and his eyes widened at the sight of his youngest brother standing before him.


	7. The Gang's All Here

As soon as Yao registered who exactly was standing before him, his expression changed from one of fury to one of worry. He reared up on his hind legs, but needed to bend his long serpentine body so he wasn't hitting the ceiling. He used his front paws to survey Xiang's face and looked at him up and down, checking for bruises. 'Are you ok? Are you hurt anywhere?' he wanted to say, but the words caught in his throat. He knew the extent of his power and hoped that he didn't end up hurting his youngest brother. Being the oldest, he felt a certain obligation to keep him, Mei, and Yong Soo safe. After the dragon checked Xiang all over, the words he wanted to say finally came out.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

Xiang casually pushed his brother's paw away from his face, "I'm, like, fine. I guess."

"Oh. Good." Then, after a slight pause. "Then what the hell were you thinking?! What are you doing here? You could get yourself killed here!"

Of course, this reaction was to be expected. Xiang mentally rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, I would love to go back home buuuuut I kinda have some stuff to do here first. Does a certain group project ring any bells?" Xiang wanted to comment on how Yao's memories must be going like his eyesight, but he kept that to himself for now. Yao's expected rebuttal was cut off by the ringing of the doorbell downstairs.

"And I guess that's my last group member, so I'll probably, like, see you later or something." He said before heading back to Emil's room right in time for the boy, now back in his human disguise, to return with a pitiful excuse for supplies. Xiang raised a thick eyebrow at the sight of a small cardboard box filled with some clay, tape, and half a bottle of glue. Emil murmured a quick 'shut up' when Xiang scoffed. At least he tried. Emil set the box down on the floor and returned to ghost form.

"So, can you only pick things up when you're not all ghosty and stuff?"

It was Emil's turn to lift a brow at Xiang. "I can hold things when I'm not "all ghosty and stuff", but it takes a lot of concentration just to make sure it doesn't slip through my fingers. I'm still not really used to being a ghost in the first place."

Xiang was about to ask further questions when quick footsteps interrupted them. Lili appeared in the doorway and was shocked by what she saw. Xiang picked up on this and immediately forgot that Emil didn't want to be seen by regular humans. While he felt that Lili would pose no threat to his safety, it seemed as though the Icelander was just uncomfortable having other people know about his ghost form. Hell, he got teased for just looking like a ghost at school. He also worried about what would happen once Lukas feel asleep and the others saw two humans in their midst.

"I can't believe it…" Lili whispered.

"Yep, ghost boy is actually a ghost. Pretty cool right?" Xiang said, as if he'd been in on it for longer than a few days.

"No, not that. You're actually here on time. Knowing you, I thought you would've come late." She said nonchalantly. After placing a backpack, full of the necessary supplies no doubt, down next to Emil's tiny box, she herself shed her human disguise and returned to her normal, pale yellow scaled, short winged self.

_What?_

Word could not describe the emotions Xiang started to feel at that moment, though he didn't exactly show them on his face. What the fuck. Literally, what the fuck just happened. Another dragon? Lili seemed to be Western dragon while Yao was an Eastern dragon but still. How had he known her for so long and not know this until now? Now that he thought about it, they did become friends around the time Emil and his family moved in. Remind him to be suspicious of everyone who came into his life at that point.

"So, when were you going to tell me you were a dragon this whole entire time?" he said, trying not to sound annoyed.

"…. I was a dragon this whole entire time."

Xiang sighed. Ok, ok. The whole 'tell no human' rule still applied to friends. Which meant him. He got it. But how many other people he knew were actually mythical creatures? As much as he would love to investigate and see what other types of creatures are out there, he began to wonder what type of secrets have been kept from him and who was keeping them. So far, he learned that his best friend and his older brother had been dragons the whole time and no one even bothered to tell or even hint towards it. Did Cheng or Kiku know? Was he the only one kept out of the loop?

"Hey Xiang, mind snapping out of it? We need some solid opposable thumbs here." Emil said, crouched next to the supplies.

Xiang looked up at him, a subtle hint of aggravation etched onto his features. Emil flinched in shock as Xiang just got up and walked out. He didn't really think about going to a specific place, he just needed some time alone. He ignored Emil calling out to him about being careful around his family and he ignored Yao when he tried to continue scolding him about that same thing. He simply walked into a different room and sat down. After a few minutes staring off into space he decided to look around. It was definitely the bathroom, so he was sure to have some privacy. Until he heard knocking. He kept quiet since he didn't want anyone to know he was there, but he knew not speaking up would cause the person, or creature in this case, to open the door anyway.

"Xiang, it's me." The familiar voice of his brother muttered.

Xiang sighed in relief, but he was still mad at him. He blocked out his pleas of 'Let me come in' and 'please, we need to talk'. Oh please, they should've talked years ago. He only wanted to talk now that he figured out himself. Xiang screwed his eyes shut, so he didn't notice a pair of thin whiskers slip between the cracks of the door until he heard the door unlock. Yao quickly scurried inside and closed the door again.

"What's wrong?"

Xiang looked away. Yao nervously fiddled with his long whiskers. It always felt weird to use them for things like opening doors, but right now, his brother was his main concern. Straightening his whiskers properly would have to wait. Yao sighed and moved back into his little brother's view. Xiang only continued to look away, growing more and more annoyed with every movement. In response, Yao held Xiang's face so that he was facing him, their noses practically touching.

"What's wrong?" he said, in a much sterner voice.

The boy sighed through his nose, causing Yao's own nose to twitch. "When were you going to tell me about this? What are you trying to hide?"

Yao's features softened. "Oh Xiang, I'm sorry. I would've preferred if you hadn't known at all. This knowledge is too much for such a young human boy to handle."

"You couldn't have kept it a secret forever."

"I know. I know." Yao said, enveloping the teenager in a hug. "I just wanted to protect my baby brother-"

"I am **not** a baby and I don't need your protection. I need answers. Who else knows about you being… you?"

"Only Cheng, Kiku and everyone who's going to be here tonight."

"Well, who else is going to be here tonight?"

"You know that I know that you don't want me to ruin that surprise." Yao grinned.

Well he had to admit, the old lizard knew him well. Just as the conversation and Xiang's anger were winding down, another knock was heard. "Don't worry, it's just me and Lili", came the voice of Emil.

"Y'know you can come in whenever you want right?" Yao asked with a raised brow.

Emil stuck his upper half through the door. "Privacy is a thing." He turned to Xiang. "So are you going to help or not? Granted we have the whole weekend to do it, but Lili and I prefer to get things done early."

Xiang nodded and left the bathroom to head to Emil's room. However, yet another interruption hindered his progress. Since everyone who knew of Xiang's presence was accounted for, they knew it was a real danger. Xiang was shoved back into the bathroom and Yao, Emil, and Lili tried to act natural. Lukas, dark circles and all, trudged up the stairs, sleepiness fully apparent. He walked into his room and shut the door. It was like he didn't even notice they were there.

"I guess that means everyone's here then." Lili said.

Suddenly, they braced themselves. They expected what would happen next, it had been years after all. Once Lukas feel asleep, it was like a string connecting their hearts to Lukas' own was completely severed. This caused a lurching sensation in them, but in Emil most of all. He and Mathias were closest to Lukas, but he had less experience with the spell. He didn't need to experience it up until about a couple years ago when he became a spirit. He floated back to his room, hand clutching his nonexistent heart. Soon enough, Lili and Xiang followed suit and Yao retreated into his designated room in the attic.


	8. Into the Dragon's Den

Xiang reclined back on Emil's bed. Maybe he was a little rash when he was talking with Yao. He was just surprised that all these people he had known for quite some time weren't humans at all. While they looked human, they were actually monsters. Don't get him wrong, it is pretty cool, and it does feel wrong to call them monsters or creatures, but he doesn't know what else to do at this point. Oh well. Nothing to do now but to take it all in stride right? Freaking out like he just did would only garner attention. He knows he needs to take Emil seriously when he said not to call attention to himself, but passing up the chance to explore the inhabitants of this house was out of the question. Especially not for some dumb science project that-

"We need your help on this, Xiang. This is a group project, so do something." Emil said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Xiang sighed and looked at Emil and Lili. Seeing as how Emil was a ghost and Lili was a dragon now, he was the one who would be putting the actual thing together. Why would they even need to make a model DNA anyway? There were already models in the class. Still, Lili was too diligent to refuse, and apparently Emil was the same. They spend the night mostly making sure they had everything they needed. Luckily, they did, so no one would have to go sneaking in or out of the house. Eventually, after hours of making individual pieces for the DNA strand, Lili went downstairs to her room and Xiang was feeling a bit tired himself.

"So… how's this going to work?" Xiang asked, eyeing Emil's relatively small bed.

"You can sleep on it if that's what you're asking. I don't sleep."

"Oh yeah, the whole dead thing. What do you even do when everyone else is asleep?" Xiang asked, barely stifling a yawn.

"Nothing, really. Goodnight." And with that he floated off.

Xiang sat on the edge of the bed. He didn't have any pajamas or anything so he just fell back onto the mattress without changing. He was too tired for that anyway. Sleep came quickly, and, unfortunately, went quickly as well. He was disturbed by his rumbling belly, since he hadn't eaten since lunchtime in school. Plus the skeleton bird was just ambling around, rattling its bones. Xiang sighed. He really didn't want to get up, but he did want food. Hunger won this round, so he gradually got up, ignoring the caws of the bird he really wished he didn't put back together.

Xiang was wary of walking around at night, but only slightly. The fact that monsters are usually portrayed as being most active at night didn't scare him, mostly because he heard what was definitely snoring in some rooms. He made his way over to the kitchen and opened the fridge. What he was a plethora of different foods, likely to sustain all the different types of creatures living here. There were stacks of bloody, raw meat in the freezer, fresh salads, and some kind of unidentifiable goop. He'd steer clear of that while coming up with something that he could eat without attracting too much attention to the kitchen.

Speaking of attracting attention, there was a guttural groan from the basement every few seconds that was beginning to drive him mad. In his half asleep state, he started to head downstairs. The flight of stairs was long. Longer than any normal set of stairs would be. As he sobered up from his sleepy state, he began to wonder why the basement was so deep underground and why he even left the fridge since he was so hungry. Curiosity killed the cat, he thought, but satisfaction brought it back.

The groaning was getting louder and the rumbling in his stomach was now covered by the sound. Finally at the foot of the stairs, he saw a single, yet huge door that was slightly open. The groaning was definitely coming from here, but now it sounded like more snoring. He slipped through the crack in the door, but couldn't see anything but a shimmering object further in. On closer inspection, it was gold. A gold necklace depicting a Chinese Imperial Dragon holding an orb in its mouth. He could've sworn he lost that a few years back!

He tiptoed inside, constantly reminding himself of the danger within that he couldn't see. He kept his eyes trained on the necklace, being his only light source. Then he stopped. How was the necklace a light source? It didn't glow on its own, so it must be reflecting a light from somewhere else. A quick glance around the room showed the source. A pair of green eyes glowing in the dark. Oh boy, where has he seen this before? Luckily for him it was just Lili. She ran up to him, her eyes illuminating the scared look on her face.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked.

"Oh." He said, bending down to grasp the necklace. "Check it. Found the necklace I lost, like, two years ago." He tugged the chain, but it got caught on something. Now that Lili was looking at it too, he could see it was caught around a… claw? A big claw. The groan-snoring stopped. Lili put her paws atop her head and closed her eyes. Xiang was about to ask her to open them back up since he needed that light, his words died in his throat at the sight of a pair of much bigger eyes. These eyes were a deeper green and they looked like they had crosshairs superimposed on the irises. He could see that, at least on this thing's face, there were sharp, pale colored scales that seem to bristle at the sight of him. It didn't take long to piece it together.

"Vash?" he asked, his voice a bit hoarse.

"Xiang." He responded with a growl. This was Vash? How was this Vash?! He was usually so small, just a bit over 5 feet. He's like, what, 18? Xiang is almost taller than him normally. Now he's this huge dragon who clearly has it out for him. He drummed his claws on the floor, still staring at the intruder, unblinking.

"You're trespassing." He looked down at the chain in Xiang's hands. "And stealing."

"Stealing? This necklace was totally mine. Besides, I was just leaving." He made his way over to the door, trying to becalm the shaking in his legs, but a big, spiky paw stopped him in his tracks.

"The penalty for trespassing for humans in this house is death." He said, in a slightly raised voice. The last thing he could see was the dragon's fangs closing in on him while Lili tried in vain to calm him down. Now, all light was completely gone. It was wet and squishy and disgusting, but luckily he was all in one piece. Still, he had a cut on his leg from scraping a fang on the way in. The sharp pain was easily ignorable as he started to be lifted by the large tongue. It tried to fling him backwards, down towards the throat, but he clutched it like his life depended on it. Mainly because it did. As he tried to hold on, he felt himself slip on the slimy tongue towards the throat.

Before he slid down completely, the dragon's throat constricted. He was stopped temporarily. As he tried to climb back up, he was met with violent thrashing. Soon, the mouth opened up, letting in some light. Did someone turn the lights on? He tumbled out of the beast's mouth, shaking and covered in the ill-smelling saliva. He wiped his eyes and tuned his ears to hear roaring of not one, but two beasts. He looked up and saw Yao, coiled tightly around Vash's neck and scratching at his closed eyes. Vash employed his four arms to try to pry Yao off with sharp claws while he reared up on his back legs and flapped his wings to try to throw him. Vash was bigger and bulkier than Yao, providing him with more power, but Yao had much more mobility. He was able to constrict a few of Vash's arms while knocking him off balance. Lili grabbed Xiang and flew him back up to Emil's room before anyone else could come down to investigate.

Xiang was shaken. His leg was bleeding and he felt a bit faint from the blood loss, hunger, and the general fear he still held. Lili looked on in fear, not wanting to leave him, but she needed to call someone to help. Xiang didn't notice when he started to fall asleep and wake back up periodically. He just saw Yao walk in and out of the room with a first-aid kit and a mop. Xiang fell asleep right then and there.

**AN: Guess who's late! If you don't read my other ongoing story, then you should know that I planned to update this last week, but sharing a computer with your family has its disadvantages. Anyway, I'll try to stick to weekly updates alternating between both stories as best as I can. See you next week.**


	9. Taking the L to Get An A

Xiang didn't leave the room for the rest of the weekend, except to go to the bathroom. Neither did Lili. When Emil came back to the room not so long after he saw the quiet commotion from the living room, he was frantic. Of course, as soon as Xiang woke back up, he got an earful of Emil's ranting about safety and learning to listen to him better. To his surprise, Xiang quietly agreed and laid back down. He got the same lecture from Yao, and he no doubt would've gotten it from Lili if she left her room.

"Hey…" Emil tried to start. "It's already 9pm and this is due tomorrow." Emil floated next to the pieces of the DNA model they made Friday, which had since dried and splintered. It was now Sunday and the project had yet to be completed. Xiang was busy examining his newly changed bandages. He had a nasty habit of picking at it, not giving it enough time to heal.

"Does this happen to any human caught in here?" Xiang asked, looking Emil dead in the eyes.

Emil put his hands up defensively. "You're the first human we've had in a while, I swear! But, if a human does wander in here, that's basically what happens. I know stumbling upon a house full of monsters is cool for you and all, but humans and monsters never got along. Not saying you have to forgive him or anything, but monsters have lived in fear of humans for years."

"In a while? Wait, this happened before?" Xiang asked, his curiosity finally peeked once more.

"Yeah, but I don't know if I should-" Emil was startled into silence by Xiang moving forward to sit right next to him. He looked at him with stars in his eyes, ready for a story. Emil raised an eyebrow and let a small smile grace his features. "Alright, alright. It all started-"

Heavy footsteps interrupted his story before it even began. Emil gasped as Xiang scrambled to hide. He crawled underneath Emil's bed, wincing in pain as the bandages on his leg tore. Just as he was making himself comfortable in his hiding spot, Mathias walked into Emil's doorway.

"Hey little man! Lukie's gonna wake back up soon, so Yao, Vash, and Lili are getting ready to go back home. Yao was grumbling about having to give Vash some more gold so he would shut up about something. Probably lost another bet!" he laughed.

"Oh, ok. Thanks for telling me." Emil said a bit too tensely, glancing at Xiang's hiding spot occasionally.

Mathias had a slight look of concern on his face. "How come you and Lili didn't talk as much this time around? You love hanging out with her on the weekends."

"I, uh… had this project to do." Emil said, gesturing to the pathetic pile of malformed clay in the corner. The Dane raised an eyebrow.

"Well, whatever that's supposed to be, good luck!" Mathias put his hand out to ruffle Emil's hair, but quickly contracted it, remembering it would just go through anyway. Just before he left, he sniffed the air. "Hmm. Smells like human in here…"

"THAT'S!" Emil exclaimed before clearing his throat and continuing at a normal volume, albeit with a shaky voice "just from a present a friend from school gave me. It's, uh, cologne." He mentally slapped himself.

Mathias gasped and bounded over to Emil with excitement. "You have friends? And you're already giving each other gifts?!" He was bouncing and wiggling all over the place with glee. He tried to sit still, but he was still shaking in his seat on the floor. "Tell me about them!"

"Uh, shouldn't you go help Lukas? You know how he is when he first wakes up."

Mathias looked crestfallen for a moment but quickly regained his cheerful demeanor. "Aye aye, captain!" He gave a mock salute and walked away and into Lukas' room. Emil sighed and waved a hand to signal Xiang to come out of hiding. He went over to Emil's desk to grab the extra bandages they were keeping there. He removed the old bandages, cleaned the wound, and put on new ones. They turned their attention back to the clay. They exchanged a look and Xiang sat back. They didn't have enough clay to restart the project and their third member was about to leave.

"Well. I guess our grade is fucked." Xiang said with the usual nonchalance in his voice.

Needless to say, their teacher was pissed. Everyone else turned in the project on time, even if some of them looked pieced together at the last second. Emil and Lili hung their heads in shame, but Xiang was just annoyed.

"Lili, I would never expect this result from you."

"I know, I'm sorry. I-"

"Which is why I'll let you off the hook this time. As for you boys, I'll let you redo the project. In fact, since I'm in a good mood today, I'll let you make a model of any subject we studied from last year to this point. Emil, you'll have Xiang to help you. And I want it on my desk tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow?" Xiang asked incredulously.

The teacher shot him a look. "Yes, tomorrow. No exceptions. End of discussion."

As soon as she walked away, Xiang sat back in defeat. "How're we going to make that crap by tomorrow? All we did last year was animal science. I think. Making a whole new model will take, like, forever."

Lili offered her help. Of course she did. Getting a good grade while her teammates got jack shit was unfair, and she had full intentions of helping them at least get an idea. Vash had since cooled down since the basement incident since Yao had given him a golden antique vase for his golden hoard. Still, she rarely got to hang out with Xiang because of his insistence, so she wouldn't be able to help him with the project as much as she did last time. It was all up to Xiang and Emil.

"Animal science, huh." Emil said, a small smile tugging at his features. "I have an idea."

"No way."

"Come on, Mr. Puffin. Just do this one thing for us."

"Do this ONE THING? I been doing a million things for you, kid and what do I get in return?"

Xiang and Emil were in his room (Lukas actually let them in this time) trying to persuade Mr. Puffin into being their science project. Now the bird was pacing around the floor, hopping and rattling his bones about it. He didn't emote, really, but if he could, he would be livid. No wonder Emil left him dismantled in some corner of his room. The bird was kind of annoying, but they needed him to pull through so they would get a good grade.

"So you're not doing it, huh? What a shame. And I was going to get Lukas to use his magic to get you your feathers back. I know how much you miss flying."

That got his attention.

The puffin stopped his pacing and stared Emil right in the face. He looked down at the floor, seemingly in thought. Finally he held his head up high and moved to ruffle the feathers he momentarily forgot he didn't have. A few grains of burnt bone cascaded to the ground at his movements.

"I just gotta stand there and look pretty, right? Don't I always? Throw in a couple fish and you got yourself a deal!"


End file.
